Isack Hadjar explains struggles amid P16 finish in Canada as Liam Lawson reflects on ‘tough weekend’ after DNF

Isack Hadjar saw his run of points results come to an end at the Canadian Grand Prix after finishing a difficult race down in P16, while Racing Bulls team mate Liam Lawson also acknowledged that it had been a “tough weekend” as he recorded a third DNF of the season.

After starting on the medium tyres from P12 on the grid – having received a three-place grid drop for impeding Williams’ Carlos Sainz during Qualifying – Hadjar ran a one-stop strategy but lost further positions during the race.

A final result of 16th place meant that the Frenchman failed to score points for the first time since the Miami Grand Prix in May.

Reflecting on the struggles that affected his afternoon at the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve, Hadjar explained: “I think we just pitted a bit too late. We had high graining at the start of the race and we lost a few positions in the pits.

“After that it was just a DRS train and towards the end I was lacking so much pace compared to the cars around. I just got overtaken by everyone.”

When quizzed on why the weekend had seemingly been a particularly challenging one for the Racing Bulls squad, Hadjar conceded that he had not felt content with the VCARB 02 from early on in the event.

“I think since the start of the weekend, even [on Saturday] I was not happy with the car,” the 20-year-old said. “I feel like on the one lap I can kind of make a difference, but over 70 laps there’s no chance.”

It was also a tricky few days in Montreal for Lawson. The New Zealander started the race from the pit lane after changes were made to his car under parc ferme conditions, including a new power unit being fitted.

However, this did not prove to be enough to move him up the order and he eventually retired on Lap 53 owing to a cooling issue.

“It’s disappointing,” the 23-year-old commented. “I think obviously it was going to be a very difficult race anyway from the pit lane, but we had a cooling issue at the end so unfortunately we had to retire. It’s just been a tough weekend, which is a shame.”

Like Hadjar, Lawson gave his take on why the weekend in Montreal had proven particularly tough for Racing Bulls and admitted that the squad now need to regroup.

“[It] was a pretty specific thing we struggled with in Qualifying, but the pace of the car was actually quite good,” said Lawson.

“And then obviously what happened in the race today is a little bit out of our control, so it’s a shame but obviously we’ve just got to keep resetting and looking ahead.”

The team will now set to preparing for the upcoming double header of Austria and Great Britain, with the former kicking things off at the Red Bull Ring on June 27-29.